Newsletter: Fall 2014

Hatchery Upgrade

MBSTP is currently improving water quality for fish at the Hatchery. A new “whole Hatchery” filter system is being installed. The filtered water will run through a U/V light sterilizer to kill fungus spoors. The project is on schedule with a completion target date of the first week in December this year. The system is designed to filter and U/V treat all water entering the Hatchery.

Additionally, a water recirculation system will be added to the tanks holding coho brood fish. This will decrease the volume of water needed to supply the hatchery.

Drought conditions and low water supply continue to aggravate our mission. MBSTP believes that the new systems will improve functionality and allow us to operate during drought while controlling, if not eliminating, fungus problems.

Salmon Enhancement

We would like to thank all the supporters and volunteers involved with the Salmon Enhancement Project. We have acclimated and released over one million young Salmon into the Monterey Bay since 2010. Our marked fish are caught along the entire west coast from Santa Barbara to Alaska by commercial and sport fishermen. Unfortunately, the Salmon Enhancement Project may be in jeopardy. For the first time since our operations began at the Harbor in 2002, the Santa Cruz Port District has complained that the Salmon run on the Harbor is resulting in vandalism, violence, substance abuse and trash in the Harbor District. Negotiations continue, but the Port District is focused on eliminating the attraction as the only way to control misbehavior. MBSTP thinks that public access to good salmon fishing is a great thing, and that problems caused by attracting people can be solved without eliminating our enhanced King salmon fishery. If you believe Salmon Enhancement is positive and necessary contact, write or email the Santa Cruz Port District <scpd@santacruzharbor.org>, 135 Fifth Avenue Santa Cruz, CA 95062. The sustainability of Chinook Salmon is at stake.